This summer is going to be a very interesting one hockey-wise. With the cap likely going down and an inordinate amount of unrestricted free agents, roster turnover is going to be substantial in the offseason with teams looking to promote from within for good value contracts. In the first of three segments, here is a look at the market for defensemen.
Note that it was assumed that every RFA will...

With one week to go before Hockey Canada announces their Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team; radios, newspapers and internet sites all feature discussions on who’s going to make the team and who’s going to get cut. On Monday, December 7, I posted a blog called “Solid Gold” , in which I tried to project what Team Canada will look like. 2 weeks later; I am ready to submit...

The hockey team that will be expected to win gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be named on December 30, approximately three weeks from today. That team, of course, is Team Canada. After a dismal showing in 2006, Steve Yzerman is now the man entrusted by Hockey Canada to piece together a winner on home soil. Yzerman has already let it be known that he will be looking for “...

In part 2 of “Talking Trades”, the insanely close and wildly unpreditacble Western Conference is analyzed.
Anaheim – There is some talk of Scott Niedermayer potentially being shopped if the Ducks continue to struggle. There is a good chance that he will retire at the end of this season, meaning the Ducks may try to deal him and his expiring contract to a contender in exchan...

American Thanksgiving is usually the marker that NHL GMs use to properly evaluate their team, and where they stand after 20-25 games. They identify if they feel they are a contender, they evaluate whether or not they should start becoming a “buyer” or a “seller” and in the December-February period they make their roster adjustments.
This is precisely why it is right a...

Tonights game between Anaheim and San Jose will mark the first time in NHL history that two California based teams will meet in the playoffs. Finishing 26 points apart in the standings and going 2-4 in the season series, the Ducks are coming in as huge underdogs against the Sharks. Both teams are big and play physical, which means that this series will most likely be one of the more physical on...

The Ducks clinched the playoffs last night in a shootout win versus the Stars. It was a bittersweet end of regulation when the Ducks gave up a late equalizing goal, but only needed a single point to clinch.
After the trade deadline all the “experts” predicted Anaheim to quickly drop out of the playoff race and start the rebuilding phase. The Ducks did the opposite, going 10-2 down ...